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Zeif
The Sultanate of Zeif is the largest single nation of the Baklunish. Its northern and eastern boundaries are formed by the Dramidj Ocean and the Gulf of Ghayar (the Janasib Isles remain stubbornly independent), while its eastern border is formed by the Tuflik river. Grasslands give way to fields along the Tuflik, and in most of the area north of the town of Antalotol. Zeif’s climate is balmy along the coast, though her interior has cold winters and very hot summers. Zeif’s broad southern border is the open plain, still dominated by the uncounted tribes of Paynims. Geography History Ozef the Warrior founded this state upon a coalition of nomadic and sedentary peoples in the region of the old Satrapy of Ghayar. With his Paynim army he defeated and destroyed each of the Imperial Pretenders, ending their evil regime and stopping the terrible blood-tribute of the Satraps. In its place he declared the Sultan’s Truce between clan, class and race. Unfortunately, Ozef’s reign was cut short when he was devoured by a dragon turtle in the Dramidj. The administration of the government was then assumed by the Diwan under the guidance of the Grand Vizier, in the sultan’s name. Ozef’s great-grandson, Jehef the Splendid, restored the authority of the sultan by gathering the support first of the military, then of the merchants. Under military administration, his rule extended from Ket to the Bakhoury Coast, and all the lands between. The legendary wealth and sophistication of his court marked the cultural high point of the sultanate. He was also the last sultan to have the full allegiance of the Paynims. Perhaps his most lasting monument is his combined palace and capitol, Peh’reen. Following the death of Jehef, his grandniece Ismuyin assumed office as the only reigning sultana of Zeif. She continued most of her uncle’s policies, but she also reached an accord with the civil government to restore the viziers to their old authority. Her government concluded treaties with the gulf states of Risay and Mur, as well as some Ataphad city-states. Diplomatic relations were established with the matriarchs of Komal, though no formal alliance was ever achieved. Growing tensions with the Paynims erupted into sporadic conflict along Zeif’s southern border, while a few of the Bakhoury emirs openly accommodated piratical strongholds. For the next several centuries, Zeif faced challenges from her neighbors on land and sea. The Zeif were usually triumphant, yet the sea-lanes continued to grow more dangerous, as did the plains. The marauding of the Paynims became so incessant that Sultan Melek II sought a permanent solution in the form of nomads from southern Komal, beyond the Gulf of Ghayar. The Brazen Horde were a nation long at odds with the Komali, and they found the promise of new lands to be irresistible. Their relocation to the plains bordering Zeif was intended to provide a buffer zone between the indigenous Paynims and the lands of the sultanate, and the strategy was briefly successful. The differing nomads warred upon each other for decades before they reached an accommodation. In the aftermath of this immigration, a horde of displaced Paynims left their ancestral lands, invading Zeif, then Ekbir, and finally emerging in the steppes beyond the Yatils to menace the peoples of the central Flanaess. The provinces of Tusmit and Ket were lost to the sultanate as well, reducing Zeif’s eastern borders to their current limits. Diplomacy proved ineffective in restoring these eastern holdings to the Peh’reen, the palace of the Sultan of Zeif sultan’s rule, and several expensive military disasters caused the government to abandon efforts to regain these lands. All of Zeif’s maritime interests were threatened by her seafaring neighbors, particularly Komal in the western Dramidj. The Battle Beneath the Waves saw a force of Komali and allied merfolk defeat Zeif’s assembled fleet in the Qayah-Bureis islands, vastly reducing Zeif’s naval presence in the Dramidj. The emirs of the Bakhoury Coast took advantage of Zeif’s weakened sea power to declare their own independence, also seizing the Janasib islands in the process. Zeif slowly reestablished control along the coast, but groups of buccaneers and pirates stubbornly held the Janasibs, defying the sultan’s authority down to the present day. The government of the current sultan has attempted to assert its authority over all the territories once held by Zeif. Only the pasha of Tusmit and a few Paynim rulers have sworn loyalty to the sultan, and he might not be willing to go to war to press his claims. Zeif has not been directly affected by the Greyhawk Wars, beyond a decline in trade with the central Flanaess nations for several years. Many unresolved conflicts exist with other western nations, but the tendency here is to watch and wait; the sultan grows old and uncertain, and the struggle for succession will occur soon enough. Population Zeif has a significant minority of orcs and halforcs, the distant descendants of nonhuman mercenaries used by the old Baklunish Empire before the Invoked Devastation. These tribeless nonhumans have become fully integrated into the state, though most are within the lower class. A number of noted generals and spies of Zeif were obviously half-orcs. Religion Languages Government Government in Zeif has many layers. The ministers of the sultan’s cabinet, or Diwan, all hold the title of Vizier; the Grand Vizier is the highest-ranking minister in Zeif, and he answers only to the sultan himself. The power of the viziers is legendary, and most of these scholarly officials are also wizards or clerics. The military of Zeif is very strong, yet because its supreme leader is the sultan himself, their interests suffer when his attention is distracted. Law and Justice Culture Military Special attention must be paid to the Bakhoury Coast client states, whose loyalty to the sultan is ever in doubt. Heavy cavalry patrol the land routes between major settlements, and heavy infantry are garrisoned in the larger towns. High in the ranks of the military are the Spahis, the knights of the sultanate; they are landed gentry of wealth and position, but without the discipline of the Farises of Ekbir. The alliance of merchants, called the Mouqollad, is perhaps the next greatest power, for they too have wealth, though no authority. Finally, assassins and spies are also plentiful in Zeif, serving any number of masters or causes. Resources Sea trade is vitally important to Zeif, and her coastal cities are by far the most prosperous. The greatest merchant fleet in the western Flanaess is that of Zeif. These ships travel to all the nations of the gulf and throughout the islands of the Dramidj Ocean. Her war fleet is also imposing, but it is divided among the many ports along the vast stretch of coast it must patrol. Foreign Relations The Paynims roam freely across the border, for many are mercenaries in the service of the sultan’s armies and so are seldom questioned. They are expected to carry the badges of their mercenary units, but these are easily obtained-legitimately or otherwise. Few others travel the plains, though caravans still trek to distant Kanak on the shores of the salt-lake of Udrukankar. Many caravans employ Paynim guards, but this is seldom proof against attack, for the Paynims war upon each other as readily as upon outlanders. Towns like Antalotol and Barakhat still profit from such caravan traffic, but none compare to the city of Zeif, on the green waters of the Dramidj. Settlements * Antalotol * Ceshra * Dhabiya * Zeif City References